We attended the breakfast banquet at Missouri State's Darr Agricultural Center on Friday morning to break bread and listen to the official contest results. Erik Schilling took 5th overall in the individual competition, correctly judging 2 lithologic discontinuities in a Paleudalf on a shoulder. We had a strong grouping of individuals just outside of the top 10 - Anna Hyytinen took 11th place followed closely by Andrew Krinke in 13th and just behind them Jeff Tanaka in 16th. A terrific block of scores for these individuals which boosted our overall score.
We were very competitive on team pits #2 and #3, but misjudged 2 horizons on team pit #1. In the end, these two horizons allowed Iowa State to edge us out for 3rd place and the final spot at the National competition by 10 points overall (2192 to 2182). It was difficult to be so close - however, we walked away with our heads held high - a razor's edge between us and a guaranteed spot at Nationals. 4th place overall, handily beating Mizzou, Nebraska and South Dakota State, all terrific teams.
Erik Schilling walked away with this year's hardware - a trophy for his 5th place showing, and as a team we are currently on the ticket as the alternates for Region V in the National competition.
We left Springfield and arrived safely in Minneapolis just in time for rush hour on Friday evening - an experience that we will all look back on fondly. A special thanks to this year's team for their unwavering support of a rookie coach - your respect and dedication is appreciated more than you know...be at one!
Nic
